Spinning fishing reel are known in the art. Open faced spinning reels position an unenclosed line spool beneath the handle of the rod and in a direction parallel to the direction of the fishing rod. The housing or frame of the spinning reel is provided with a leg member for securing the reel to a fishing rod. A lure attached to the line may be cast with minimal drag as it is deployed from the spool. A mechanical line pick up in the form of a wire bail is provided to retrieve the line and reload it back onto the spool. An anti-reverse lever is provided to prevent the crank handle from rotating while a fish is pulling the line from the spool.
Frames for spinning reels are typically manufactured from aluminum or another metal. One prior art manufacturing method includes die casting a liquid aluminum metal within a mould. Another method comprises forging an aluminum metal into the various reel components. Yet another method involves machining the components from a solid block of aluminum material. Each of these methods has inherent disadvantages. Die casting produces a lower quality product due to porosity and impurities formed in metal components. Forging requires high tooling costs and machining is labor intensive and uneconomical. Machining from a solid block of aluminum material does result in high quality reel components. However, it is very time consuming, requires expensive machinery and therefore, is uneconomical.
It is known to form a frame for a bait casting or fly fishing reel from a length of a hollow tubular extrusion. The interior wall of the extrusion is milled radially and large sections are removed to create openings around the circumference of the frame. It is also known to form a bait casting or fly fishing frame from a length of walled extrusion. The extrusion likewise requires extensive milling to create a finished frame. Each of these prior art manufacturing processes is uneconomical and labor intensive as extensive post-extrusion machining is required. Furthermore, neither prior art process is adapted for manufacture a spinning reel frame which by definition will include an integral leg member.